By: Nate Bope & April King
Urbana City Schools is considering approaching the voters on a 0.75% income tax levy.
After a 90-minute discussion on Tuesday evening, the district board took the first step by pushing forward the resolution that is “Declaring the necessity of raising $2,882,636 annually for the school district purposes.”
The levy is being brought to the forefront of discussions on the heels of an August 6 board of elections deadline and is being considered to go on the ballot in November.
This resolution would levy additional income tax over the next five years, starting on January 1, 2026.
Superintendent Charles Thiel gives his thoughts on the process and explains the decision on why the district is approaching voters.
In other meeting topics, Superintendent Thiel gave his approval of staff resignations and additions for the 2025-2026 school year, which are as follows:
Resignations:
- Sierra McLoughlin (Teacher)
- Christopher Stacy (Teacher)
- Melanie Ullah (School Nurse)
- Kai Scott (Assistant High School Football Coach)
Adding Substitute Bus Drivers:
- Barton Henry
- Brenda Mitchell
- Calandria Burden
- Heather Wolf
- Hunter Walsh
- Jacob Wilhite
- Joshua Jacobs
- Joshua Randolph
- Margaret Huffman
- Neal Shambaugh
- Paul Poppel
- Robert Ball
- Theresa Stokes
- Noah Clark
Adding Substitute Bus Aids:
- Carol Thomas
- Pam Evilsizer
High School Volunteers:
- Tina Brown
- Michael Busch
- Rylan Heffner
- Lori Johnson
- Benjamin Mitchell
- Sarah Nannarone
- April Petry Brisley
- Jennifer Ricketts
- Kristen Wasson
- Justin Brown
- Daniel Nannarone
- Holli Brown
- Natalie Hardman
- Virginia Hughes
- Elizabeth DeWitt
The district has called a special meeting to discuss the next steps of the levy on Thursday, July 31, at 5:30 PM, location to be announced.
